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― twenty eight.
the days seemed to go quicker for inha, the students' exams drawing closer and closer. however, for inha, there was something a lot more bigger for her to deal with now.
"are you sure you'll be okay?" wooyoung stared at the girl in concern, noticing how her leg hadn't stopped shaking, and she continued to pick at the skin by her nails whilst they waited for him to show up. wooyoung, over the years of sitting near inha, had become accustomed to her habits, especially the ones that she did when she was nervous.
upon asking his question though, the girl came to a halt, realising what she had been doing absentmindedly. "i'll be fine." she assured, giving him a smile, but it looked more like a grimace to the boy.
although, she no longer had a chance to run away as the bell to the cafe door rang, signalling a new customer. the pair had opted to meet at a location outside of wooyoung's house, making it more comfortable for the girl.
"dad, over here." wooyoung waved over his dad who had been looking around like a lost puppy. he lit up at the sight of his son, making his way over before his eyes landed on inha. he suddenly froze in his step, surprised at the sight of her. of course, he was well aware of what was going to be happening today, but that wasn't what took him by surprise.
inha carefully lifted her head to meet his eyes, wondering why he hadn't sat down yet.
"i-inha?" he stumbled his words, not believing his eyes right now. the baby that he had held in his arms for the first time seventeen years ago, was she really sat before him? the girl could only awkwardly bow her head, her gaze dropping back to the table as she felt the nerves creep back up.
"sit down." wooyoung patted the spot next to him, his father finally snapping out of his daze as he nodded, taking a seat next to his son and opposite his daughter. a silence sat between the group, wooyoung's eyes restlessly flickering between the two. "wah, its so awkward." he cringed out loud, trying to lighten the mood, which seemed to work as his father released a light chuckle.
turning his attention to his daughter, he gave her a soft smile. "you've suffered a lot, inha." the girl's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such a reaction. "but, you and wooyoung look so alike, i'm surprised you didn't realise sooner." he mentioned, now taking wooyoung by surprise.
"what are you talking about? we look nothing alike." he argued, pointing between himself and inha.
"you're twins, of course you look alike." his father fired back, mimicking the way wooyoung spoke in pout. inha could only stare in fascination, she had never experienced let alone witnessed such an exchange between a child and their parent.
"yeah, but she's still a girl," wooyoung fired back. "it's not easy to look this handsome." he added, waving to his face which only caused his father to roll his eyes at him.
"don't forget where you got those looks from." his father squabbled.
"everyone says that i look more like mum." wooyoung quick wittedly threw back. his father sighed, massaging his forehead over his obviously difficult child.
"clearly you got her personality too." he quietly fired back, exhausted from the bickering. inha, who had been quietly watching their quarrel, couldn't help but deflate at the mention of her real mother. they mentioned her so casually, but she couldn't help feeling a stab of shame.
"aren't you both angry at me?" she suddenly questioned, her eyes cast to the table as she wondered why she was even here. it was clear to her that the both of them had a strong relationship, and they had done fine without her, so why were they trying so hard to hold onto her?
"angry at what?" his father questioned. "nothing was your fault, inha." he reminded as the girl slowly lifted her head. "the reason as to why i wanted to meet you, it isn't because i blame you for what had happened, you did nothing wrong." he explained, carefully reaching over to place his hand over hers. to her surprise, she didn't flinch away from his touch, and instead accepted it. "from the day you were born to now, you are my daughter. what happened to your mother can't be changed now, nothing of the past can be changed," he continued, clearly talking about inha's dark past. "but it's all in the past now, it'll be hard to forget, but we can change the future by focusing on what's before us." he finished with a smile, giving her hand a soft squeeze.
inha nodded, unable to hold his gaze for too long as it dropped to their hands. although she wanted to cry, something that inha rarely did, she realised that it wasn't the same crying of sadness that she had been doing all these years.
this moment right now, with her real family, it made her want to cry out of relief. the fear that she had built up over the years, and even in the past few weeks, everything seemed to wash away from this simple moment.
the words that she had been craving to hear, to find out that her family accepted her ― for inha, this used to be such a far away dream. she never thought that she'd live to see the day.
